As part of their ‘Enchanted Collection’ for Summer 2012, Clarins brought their rather delicious looking Instant Smooth Crystal Balms to Australia. You may have noticed that the Crystal Balms have been reformulated in recent times to include a colour core, which means (yay!) better pigmentation.

This was the first Clarins lip product I’ve tried, and I’m smitten.

Clarins says…

Instant Smooth Crystal Balm delivers lipstick true colour thanks to its colour ‘heart’ that is highly concentrated in pigments and pearls. Its bullet has a surprising crystal look that adds a touch of natural shine to the final result.

Crystal Coral is a gorgeous blood orange coral, with a juicy shine. It’s bright shade, but at the same time quite wearable.

Unlike the previous version of the Crystal Balms without the colour core (see Rae’s review of the older version on The Notice) , these are surprisingly pigmented with medium coverage in one layer. I find that the shine wears off in about 30mins-1hr, but the colour clings on as a soft stain for quite a long time (around 3-4hrs on me, which is impressive for a lipstick/gloss/balm hybrid).

The Clarins Crystal balms are lightweight and non sticky. As far as hydration goes- it’s lightly moisturising but will not replace my heavy duty lip balms when my lips are dry.

Overall I’m very impressed. Beautiful colour that is easy to wear, decent wear time, and cute translucent jelly bullet => instant love. It goes without saying that I’m going to check out Crystal Violet next time I’m at a Clarins counter.

Clarins Crystal Balm in Crystal Coral and Illamasqua Naked Rose FOTD

FOTD makeup breakdown:

Eyes:

– Two Faced Shadow Insurance to prime

– MAC Copperplate eyeshadow all over lid

– Fyrinnae Beholder loose eyeshadow (swatched here) on mobile lid to crease. This is my go-to taupe for most looks.